HORSES AND HOUNDS. 189 



Here was a change indeed ! The fresh breezes of the hill were 

 as refreshing to ourselves and horses as the soft turf was de- 

 lightful to our hounds' bruised feet. A wonderful change came 

 over us all — the scent improved, the hounds began to mend 

 their pace immediately. An old sportsman coming up remarked 

 that our fox, being now on the hills, was certainly making his 

 point for another large covert in the vale beyond. '* What dis- 

 tance is it, may I ask, and in what direction f " Four or five 

 miles away, and straight before you ; you will soon see it. 

 Skirting a patch of gorse, where our friend Slyboots had waited 

 a little (perhaps to try and catch another rabbit), the hounds 

 suddenly threw up their heads, down went their sterns, and 

 away they rattled, as hard as their legs could carry them. We 

 could now see the large covert in the distance. " Jim," I said, 

 " get forward as fast as you can to that wood yonder, straight 

 as a line, and cut him off from entering it, if you can. If he 

 gains that wood, he beats us; there are many foxes there, and 

 we are sure to change." Jim was off like a shot to his point. 

 Descending the hill, he caught sight of the fox taking a circuit 

 round its base, and, with his cap pointing in that direction, he 

 hallooed out, "Yonder he goes, but I'll beat him." Away 

 spurred Jim, cracking his whip as he went, with his head 

 turned towards the fox, and his cap sometimes held high in the 

 air, as much as to say "We shall have him now." Cheering the 

 hounds with my well-known cry when our fox was sinking (and 

 wdiich was always a peculiar one at such a crisis), their hackles 

 rose, and the race began in earnest. We rattled on for a couple 

 of miles or so over the open, when, viewing the fox running hard 

 for the ploughed land again, with his head now straight for the 

 large covert, which we were rapidly approaching, I saw the time 

 was come for a last effort. Eiding, therefore, to the head of the 

 hounds, cap in hand, with a short tally-ho or two, of which they 

 w^ell knew the meaning, their heads were up in an instant for 

 the rush, and catching sight of poor Slyboots, they ran into him 

 at the first hedge we came to, off the down, and killed him up 

 against an ash tree. 



All who were up expressed themselves highly gratified at the 

 run ; but the sporting divine, who had been thundering along 

 on his big brown horse at a certain distance, was not in the best 

 humour with our stealing such a quick march upon old Sly- 

 boots: so he said, "I suppose you call that fox-hunting?' 

 " Something like it, I should imagine," was my reply. " But, 

 pray, sir, what may you be pleased to call it T " I call it, sir, 

 fox murdering !" " Very well," I said, " every man to his taste, 

 but I can give you chapter and verse for my proceedings 



